The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connector systems.
Some electrical systems, such as network switches and computer servers with switching capability, include receptacle connectors mounted on daughter cards or backplanes that are interconnected by header connectors mounted on opposite sides of a midplane. For example, switch cards may be connected on one side of the midplane, and line cards may be connected on the other side of the midplane. The line cards and switch cards are joined through the header connectors. The header connectors and receptacle connectors typically have electrical contacts that carry signals as differential pairs. However, such systems are limited in the amount of bandwidth, or signal information that may be carried by the differential pair. For example, a typical differential pair transmits a stream of information which is limited by the frequency of electrical pulses that are conveyed along a pair of electrical contacts. Additionally, some systems provide electrical shielding for each pair of electrical contacts, and the shields thereof occupy a considerable amount of space between the pairs of electrical contacts. The footprint of the connectors is large to accommodate the shields.
A need remains for an improved electrical connector system having increased bandwidth and/or a reduced footprint.